Rolling-mill



(No Model.) Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.4

, W. J. LEWIS.

ROLLING MILL.

No. 351,608. Patented 00u26, 1886..

Zyl

(No Model.) `2 sheets-sheet 2.

vv.v J. LEWIS.

ROLLING MILL.

No. 351,608. Patented'oct. ze, 188,6.

lag. 2

WHA/5885s. wf/hof? i Arron/vens UNITED STATES PATENT XGFEicE.

W'ILLIAM J. LEWIS, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA,

ROLLING-MILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 351,608, dated October 26, 1886. i

Application liled June 26, 1886. Serial No. 206,?98. (No model.)

` To all whom it may concern:

suit-ably arranged in front of the rolls.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. LEwIs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machinery for Rolling Metal Plates or Sheets; and I do hereby declare the followingto bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this speeication.

My invention has relation to improvements in machines for rolling iron orsteel into sheets or plates.

For some years it has been customary in rollingsheet metal to employ three-high rolls, and to have the center roll of considerably less diameter than the upper and lower rolls, `as shown, for instance, in Letters Patent of the United States No. 41,307, of January 19, 1864, in order to obtain the best results and produce a more rapid and uniform reduction than can be obtained by the use of a roll of the same diameter as the upper and lowerrolls. Within certain or reasonable limits the smaller the center roll in diameter the more rapid will be the reduction ot' the metal. When a small roll is used, it must y,be in a three-highmill or set, in order that it may have the support throughout its length ot' the upper and lower rolls. lIeretofore, however, the supporting of theI small roll by the lower large roll has been incidental to the arrangement of the three rolls for actual work, the passes being made alternately between the upper and center roll and between the center and lower rolls and from opposite sides, the sheets or plates being raised and lowered upon a table Under the conditions mentioned the power is usuallyapplied to'one of the larger rolls, the smaller roll being operated by friction only, and the rolls rotated in one direction only without reversal.

My invention' contemplates `the employment of the three-high rolls, `but under different.

conditions, essentially, from those heretofore pertaining to the use of three-high rolls.

Instead of using thelower roll as a. working or reducing roll, I simply use it as a supporting medium for the small roll and apply the power to the latter, The passes are all made ent passes.

through and the metal reduced by the action of the upper and center roll, and after each pass in one direction the motion of-the rolls is reversed and the return pass made between the same two rolls.

In practice the axis of the lower rollI will be beneath the floor of the mill, and consequently the middle or small roll will be in a line with the lower roughingroll of the roughing set and on line with the lower driving-pinion, receiving its power from the engine. The latter is a double-cylinder or other suitable reversing-engine, and the reverse motion of the rolls is obtained through and from the engine, which is reversed after each pass at the rolls.

I am of course aware that it is not only not new to use three-high rolls, but that it is commonto reverse the motion of the sheet orV plate rolls, and to do this from a reversingengine', hence it may be pertinent to suggest that in planning myimprovements Ihave had in view certain specic objects and advantages, which are only obtainable under and by the combination embodying my inventionviz., the three-high rolls, in which the lower roll serves merely as a support to the smalldiameter middle roll.

It is obvious that a two-high roll with differential rolls could not be used particularly for heavy work, as the smaller roll would be inadequately sustained and only at its journals. This fact will be app/arent when it is understood that I am now contemplating building rolls one hundred and twenty inches in length. Again, if three rolls be employed -under their usual conditions,'it becomes eX- ceedingly diftcult, if not impractieable, to shift or raise and lower the plates for differ- A limit has therefore to be reached when neither the mereuse of reversing-rolls or three-high rolls having passes between the middle roll and the upper and lower rolls will meet the requirements ot' work. So, while it may seem at lirst glance that I have merely applied reversing machinery to the ordinarythree-high roll, it will be apparent, upon due consideration ofthe objects in view, that I am not claiming as an improvement in three-high rolls merely the application thereto of reversing machinery, because I do not utilize the lower roll at all as a reducng-roll.

The improvements may there- Y fore be understood as practically an improvement in two-high rolls. For reasons above stated, it is of great advantage to make the passes to and fro between the upper and the, smaller rolls, particularly in working large plates, and to do this the motion of the rolls must be reversed; but I could not use the ordinary two-roll set, provided I wished to use the small roll, because I would have an inadequate support to the small roll; hence it becomes necessary to use the supplementary or supporting roll. The distinctions are important.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure lisa side elevation of a series of rolls including the two-high roughing-rolls and the three-high plate-mill with their appropriate connections. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sect ion through the three-h i gh rolls.

A A designate the housings of the three-A high set, and B B B2 the upper, lower, and middle rolls, the roll B being of smaller diameter than B I. The roll B is in line with the lower roughing-roll, of which G C designate the pair iournaled in housings l) D and geared together by the pinions E F'. rIhe shaft of thelower pinion, E, is the main powershaft, and is coupled to the reversingengine,

(represented at F.) rIhe lower roll, B, ofthe three-high setjs conveniently located with its axis and main body portion below the floorline G, and said roll is coupled by gearing H H', and 'runs from and reversely to the roll B. The upper roll, B, is run by friction. rlhe passes are all made between the upper and smaller roll, the engine being reversed after each pass, so that the metal may be returned. The travel of the plate is therefore always in the one plane, instead of, as heretofore in the use of the th ree-high rolls, in alternating planes at different elevations. The small roll and the lower roll are in surface contact, and both are so geared as to run at like speeds and without rubbing or grinding.

\Vhile I have specifically described anarrangement wherein the center roll and upper rolls constitute the working-rolls, while the lower roll is employed merely as a support for the center roll, it is obviouslywithin thescope and spirit of my invention to reverse the position of the working and supporting rollsas, for instance, by raising the set so that the lower roll shall be above the iloor-line and using the center and lower rolls as workingrolls, while the upper roll supports the lower roll against strain. Under this arrangement and application the driving pinion shaft would be in line with and connected to the shaft ofthe lower roll and the'center and upper rolls, if expedient, operated by friction. It", however, mere friction were found insutti cient, any suitable arrangement ol" gearing might be provided to positively operate the rolls.

Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by lietters Patent, is

1. In machines for rolling niet al plates, the combination, with a reversing engine, ot' a three-high set ol' rolls driven from said engine, the middle roll being ot' less diameter than the upper and lower rolls, said lower roll being geared with and scrvingmerely to sustain the small roll, the upper and middle rolls constituting the working or reducing rolls only, substantially as described.

2. In machines for rolling metal plates or Sheets, the combination, with reversible driving mechanism, of a three-high set of rolls, ol'

which the upper and middle rolls constitute solelyr the reducing set, while the lower roll serves solely as a support for the middle roll, said middle roll being ot' reduced diameter and geared to and operating the lower roll, the upper roll being run by friction, substantially as described.

3.V In machinery for rolling metal plates or sheets, the combination, with suitable driving,r and reversing mechanism conveying power through thedriving-pinion shaft of the roughing-rolls, of a three-high set of diterential rcdueingrolls arranged, substantially as de scribed, so as to align the center roll with the said pinion-shaft and dispose of or locate the a-Xis of the lower roll below lthe floor-line of the mill, substantially as described.

Lt. In rolliiig-mills or machinery for the reduction of metal plates or sheets, the combination, with the roughing-rolls, of a three-high set of reducing-rolls, comprising a center roll of smaller diameter than the uppcrand lower rolls, said center roll being geared with the lower roll, which constitutes its support merely, and being in alignment with and coupled to the lower and main pinion-shaft ot' thoroughingrolls` while said lower roll is located bclow the floor ot' the mill, substantially as described.

5. In machinery for rolling metal plates or sheets, the combination, with reversing driving mechanism, such as a reversing-engine, of a three-high set of rolls, wherein the middle roll and one of the outer rolls constitutes the working pair solely, while the other outer roll serves merely to support, sustain, or brace the center roll throughout its length, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM. J'. Ll'llVlS.

Witnesses:

J No. F. AroHEsoN, Trios. A. CoXNoLLY.

ICO 

